Means for supporting and/or facilitating the erection of posts, stanchions, pipes, and the like



Jan. 8, 1946. 'c. J. RICE 2,392,549

MEANS FOR SUPPORTING AND/OR FACILITATING THE ERECTION OF POSTS, STANCHIONS, PIPES, AND THE LIKE Filed April 29, 194.4 5 Sheets-Sheet l 32 In ventor C de-1 Z Home Jan. 8, 1946. c. J RICE 2,392,549

MEANS FOR. SUPPORTING AND/OR FACILITATING THE ERECTION I OF POSTS; STANCHIONS, PIPES, AND THE LIKE Filed April 29. 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor C 7730a Jan. 8, 1946. Q RICE 2,392,549

MEANS FOR SUPPORTING AND/OR- FACILITATING THE ERECTION OF POSTS, STANCHIONS, PIPES, AND THE LIKE Filed April 29, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Jan. 8 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT FF ICE MEANS'FQR SUPPQRTING AND/DIE FAGILI':

TA I G TEE ERE N BQS r,,. TA onions PIrgs, AND LIKE Charles: 'John Rice, Bexleyhea th England 7 8 Claims.

it is being connectedto another article or otherwise permanently fixed i-n the desired position. Thu for instance in the erection of postssuch as posts offences or the like it-Jis usual-tam;-

parar y o su p su hms a e ic P'Q .tionby means fof ayrough timber structure erected n the it T s qcedur ne es ar ly takes a long time, it being necessary to hoid the post in; an-tapp roximately vertical positionand then to-erect the supporting structure andendeavour during sucherection to bring thepost into a vertical tpositionvas indicated by .Ievels,

plumb lines or the like. After erection oi the supporting structureit is-impossible to make any .fine adjustmentsandthe accurate positioning of the post, is therefore difiicult. Moreover; the

.supportingstructure has to bedismantledafter the post ha :beensecured inposition; soc-increasing the time taken in the erecting opera tion.

One, of the objects of the present invention is to provide a device with the aid-of which such erecting'operations canbe carried out very; easily and quickly and with thevery miniinu-mfof labour. I V t According to the present invention there are provided means .forfsupporting and/ or facilitating the erection of] posts, ,stanchionsgpipes and the like saidmeans comprising a clamping-head and one or more adjustable simportingstruts, iegspr the like associated with said head. I p

Th f id c m i g h ad m b ad pte to engage articles-of any desired section and'it may be provided if desired withza-ttachments enabling various sections to beaccommodated. Thus for instancenthe n i ainobody of the head. may .bercfflsquare-or rectangular shape so providingaccommodation fonarticles of sguare or rectangular .form and attachments for: example of triangular-or substantially,triangular form may flbe. adapted for insertionin the corners of the flame opposite .to the clamping member so .roviding, accommodation for receiving ands- Se cur'ely gripping-f articles for instance oftround,

elliptical; or even. irregular section.

The 'claiiiping member of the aforesaid frame maybe pf-arf tsuitabiejkindand if desired more tha o lemni stmemb m 19 l id la n te r q sv r. fin heta in l c m 1 me ber is ufli e t: en his P fe b l c e m wa orep o im e m dwa -o al n one side of the c1amping1head. If; cle siregithe s ewwh e -the damnin -m mb is rfitie m e adiu t h r aureq tqth re t of, th heed in such a way as to; provide ior longitudinal adiustms tot aid s de an ans nte r teem .o h lem nswmsmh wit respect, to th a ti o b damne The cl m in zi s pi -.:ih aiqr eid c am n .rnember preferahly consists of,a late having a .con caved'or rec" centre; portion, the side ar s thu vbeinsedan s 6 en a a, P t u a an t cen r er e t h r da t to engage an angi iianor curvedsurface; Such P a e may w r iedr on a d ust n screw m ing crew-threaded engagement With-the adjacentysideof the clamping headv and means such for instanceas a 106k nut may be provided for locking saidladjusting screwzin a desired position.

The aforesaid ciarnping headis preferably adapted to surround thegarticle to be clamped and in, such ,cases andin order,to;, enabie engageme tr ab adenwit i a i es" wh zh aii o l b passedlon itudina y h ou s h a oiieo th sides v of t has s i e eral ls" j ab .fitted. Thus tforinstaii ce the side vcarryin .ii f e c1am ne.mri1h f-. be d a h b sec re to the rest ofthe headby .wingnuts, I

' The aforesaid clarribing' head I may be of fixed or adjustable size. Thil'stfoiinstance inthe ca's'e of an adjustable rectangular head two of the opposed sides, (5. g.,.the s ide carrying the clan 1p ing' member the opposite side mayhem dimensions appropriate to the largest articIe; of the range for which the head is intended-and the other two sides may be o'f ,adjus'tabldength and consist for example of telescopically interconnected components. Inv amodifiedarr'angemerit the first mentioned sides may make slotted engagement. with the adjustable sides so,- en'- abling the effective length of the former also to be adiusted. f

Th S r n tru rs ru s h K62 5 ciated with the aforesaid clamping head isor are preferably pivotaliy secured thereto or connected bymeans of a swivel. or universal joint andit is advantageous that such strut .oi' struts should be detachablyrmount'ed. 'Lhus forinstances Lrhay proyidea bracket on bone ,or nofefsides of the clamping head and a detachable suppqrting strut canthen-obe cpnnected to therbracitet located; on

sections in an adjusted :position.

the side where support is required or struts can be fitted to more than one side, e. g., on two or three sides of a rectangular support.

In order to provide for quickly adjusting the length'of the aforesaid strut or each of the aforesaid struts such strut may comprise two or more telescopically interconnected sections and any suitable means may be, provided for locking said For the fine adjustment of such strut or its adjustment under 1 load, it is however sometimes desirable to provide a screw adjustment such for instance'a's ascrew threaded rod making engagement with-internally screw-threaded tubular parts 01" the strut or a screw-threaded socket or stretcher making engagement with externally threaded rod-like sections of the strut. If desired the two forms of adjustment may be incorporated so providing" for a coarse and quick adjustment to approximately correct values and a fine adjustment under load.

In-some cases it is desirable to'provide for angular adjustment of'on'e' section of a strut with respect to another section and for this purpose I may incorporate anysuitable joint such as a 1 universal joint between two adjacent sections. Y In'cases where a device according to the present invention is intended for supporting an obect from the ground totheflowermost end of the aforesaid strut or the'lowermost end of each of the aforesaid struts is preferably provided with a base and the latter is preferably'cpivotally connected to said strut so that good contact with the ground is attained and opposition to slipping afforded. if desired pins or the like maybe provided for insertion through holes in said base and into the ground for the purpose of offering further 1 opposition to slipping for instance on soft ground.

The ends of the aforesaid strut olf'the ends of l each of the aforesaid struts are preferably of similar form ineases where there is provision for such strut being detached from the clamping head and from theb'ase ifprovided, so adapting both ends of such strut for connection to a clamping head. This enables the device to be used as an adjustable tie or strut between two articles in any desired relative positions, i. e.,

clamping heads can be applied to each of the I articles concerned and said heads can be interconnected and. supported in the desired relative positions by 'means of one or 'more. struts and assuming that the latter are adjustable in length adjustments in the relative'positions of such articles can be easily made.

d In order that the present invention may be well understoodI'will now describe, by way of example only, some embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings in which'-- Figure 1 is a plan view of" one simple form of clamping head of fixed size;

Figure 2 is a plan view of one form of adjustable clamrping head with parts of the associated struts v 3 also shown, 7

' Figure 3 is aside view of a detail of the clamping head shown in Figure 2,

Figure i is a perspective view of a horizontally with adjustable supporting struts,

- Referring toFigure 1,.the clamping head includes a rectangular frame having integrally formed sides I, 2 and 3 and a fourth side 4 which is detachable from the sides 2 and 3, said side 4 being for instance detachably secured to the 5 frame by means'of butterfly nuts 5 and 6 applied to screw threaded projections extending from the sides l and 3 through the side 4.

The aforesaid sided is provided witha screw-' threaded hole about mid-way therealong and the adjacent part 1 of said side is preferably outwardly bowed as shown. A clamping screw 8 passes through and makes screw-threaded engagement with said hole and to its inner end is fitted a clamping plate 9 extending parallel to the adjacent side of the head. Said clamping plate may be of disc form with concaved channels l8 and II extending thereacross at right angles to one another so adapting such plate for instance from mild steel strip material 1%" V wide and A" thick and such frame maybe about seven inches long and five inches wide but it is to be understood that I do notw'ish to imply that the'invention is limited to any particular dimensions nor to the use of any partucular material. The range of adjustment of the clamping screw'8 may be of any desired value but assuming that the frame is of the above mentioned dimensions and the clamping member can be moved through a distance of say two inches then the frame can accommodate rectangular members up to a width of 7"-and varying between 3" and 5" in depth.

Corner frames 12 and I3 are provided for insertion in the corners of the above described clamping head for instance for the purposeof making the head suitable for application to a round object, e. g., a pipe or post of circular,

cross-section. These triangular frames may be made'from material similar to that employed for making the clamping head itself and they are preferably of such a size that their adjacent apices meet at the centre of the sid 2 of the head. 7 7 Q The aforesaid frames. [2 and 13 may be detachably secured to thehead in any convenient way for instance by studs projecting therefrom V through the side 2 and cooperating with winged or other suitable nuts l4, [5.

Angle brackets l6 and I1 secured to the side 2 of the above described head are adapted to side 3 ofthe clamping head so enabling struts one side if desired, V a 7 Referring now to Figure 2 of the drawings the clamping head is again of rectangular form but it is of adjustable size. I In this embodiment the side 18 of the head consists of a strip for instanc'e of mild steel say 1% wide and A." thick and the opposite side I9, which 'may for instance be receive the end of an adjustable supporting strut .a s an eih s I plunger 45 is fitted to a medial 35 and a compression'spring' @QQPtIhii 1 .13 5; 1 ih :13 .ehdthe a i 91 c n eh' dih v: e eas yemin hem. th r me ot e r ifit eq ther o t: 1

:m si the clahiein head si i' iit e vto the adjacent sides in a rnanner threaded projectionson the tubular parts and. 25 extend through apertures in the side 18 I and nuts "3! and. 32 are providedior cooperat on therewith.

Thfihpertures provided in the Sides J8. and 19 of the head for receiving the endsoi the. adjacent sides. are preferably'in the fform of slots as indicated by. reference numeral 33 oenabling the telescopic sides of the head to be spaced apartby a variable distance and also en'a'bling 'adjustrnents to be made in the positionoccupied y the clamping plate Z Zwith respect to the said telescopic sides. Assuming for'instance that the gaid lslotsjare 1 /2" long the distancebetween the tel sco i sides ehb varied th u h ralhgelvf th'reeinches.

' "I 'he telescopic sides of a the 'abo ve described head mayibe adjustable through fanydesired tance of separation between the sides 18 andv l9 being for instance. tenab e between 7%" and'5 A 4 the arrangement shown in Figured iorlo clg ing the telescopic sides in any desiredpositions of .edih tm om r pins 4 nd 3 fadehf d to ha, en a m with the series of holes 36 and 31 providedinthe rodlike parts 23 and 25 respectively, such holesbein'g the appropriate holes of spaced apart for instance by 'a distance of about he fflhi qhi "The pins 34 and 35 can be withdrawn from the associated holes by pulling the. cups 38and 39 outwardly against the action of a spring and they may be'locked in their freed positions by rotatingthem so that slots therein are moved out of alignment with stop members 40 and 4I respectively.

Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings is a detailed side view of the locking device 35, 39,

- 4l-' and as the other locking device is si rnilar iurther'description of v v -As shown in Figure 3 the pin 35 extends from the-head ofth cup 39 and passes through a --nutr 43fitted to the hub portion 44 which prothe latter is necessary.

jects from the part 26- of the clamping head. A part of-the pin is located between said nut 43 and plunger 45, said. spring .tend-ing to urge the pin inwardly-through; one

aligned-openingin-the member-25 ofthe clampinghead.

The abovementioned stop -4l extends radially from the hub portion 44 of the locking device and cooperates with a slot 41 formed in the skirt w portion of'th cup '39, said slot being flared and se v d i 1 W h er heji an heqess yio accurate setting betweenthe'slot and the stop The means provided in.

is rendered unnec ssary- .a ishhiihsiihh the cup has been withdrawn tQfi IOWp adjust.- ment between the parts 25 and 26 it isonly necessaryto movesuchpart to the appro gimate positions then rotate the cup 39 so that me part Oithe-flared entrance of th slot 41 in ali n wit the st p 4 the .pin..:.

then in alignment with a hole in themember 1 the pinwill be urgedv therethroughand during this process the cup ;39 will be automatically turned into a position bringing the root of; the slot into exact-alignment. If on the-other hand the pin is not exactly'in alignment withi a one I another Hscopicallyinterconnected portions and 5 6 7 hole in th member 25 vit is only necessary -to .move the member with respect to the member 26 until registration is attained whereupon the ,pin will automatically move into its looking position and the cup 39 will also move into its appropriate position.

Brackets 48 are fitted to the Sid I I1QIIlbGIS,;2 .4, 8 a .26 o the m n h an he ear adapted to receive the heads 49. iof st'ruts, .t l1e said h a b n p qt onn o sa racket by bolts 50 and the struts themselves bein gqnstructed; in amanner hereinafter described.

Triangular frames 5| and 52 are detachably fit d Q hea o e ibe a-m ehea mat c lly f ame being e u nst nc b s rewe stu ex en rom sa d am throu the s'id 18 of the clamping head and having nuts; 5 3 and 54 applied thereto. As explained in the earlier d s i e amp h s me are f. ss tanc whe c l d l e jies a e, to be gr pp d a thou th w u 9 be us wh he hoshee eh i p a e of c ula wees-Secti n- Referring now to Figure, :Loi the drawings ther is shown a clamping headwhichis similar to that described with reference to Figures'2 and 3 and similar reference numerals are accordingly applied to v corresponding parts. Such head is however shown in a. position suitable for-instance for supporting a, post in a vertical position and the struts associated with said head are-shown in detail, thatis to say the three struts, ;parts only of which are shown in Figure 2; are shown in full and since these strutsare allsimilar to corresponding parts thereof are si na dby s h h re t h e. hi Each of the aforesaid strut includes .tw

the

part 5 6 being of tubular form and the pai t iii -.pre.ferah y be ng of squa e s ction and be neeh ded by, a, suitablycontoured bore in the} part 56 orby suitably, apertured bushes located therein. The upper end of the rod-like portion 55 of .each strut is screw-threaded and makes engage- .ment with one end of a stretcher device 5"l and --the upper end of such stretcher device makes screw-threaded engagement witha rod;58;=extending from the above mentioned head49 which is-pivotally mounted in the bracket 48.0ffthe c a ping head. The aforesaid stretcher 51 makes right-handed screw-threadedenga em n with the rod at one end and left-hand: screwthreaded engagement withthe rod at theother :endso that thev rods 55' and .56. can be, moved towards, or away from on ianother. by rotatin suchstretcher in the appropriate direction.

V -If desired lock nuts 59 may .beprovided for looking each of the stretchers 5'! inits properly adjusted position.

The lower end ofthe part-560i eachcof .the

..,a.foresaid struts is .provided with a. IT-headed!) and the latter is pivotally t mounted in .brackets -76 6| secured tothebase-SZ. If desiredeachmf the for supporting the apparatus may be used respect to another one 7 '4 in that it includes 3 therefore unnecessary.

said bases 62 may be secured to a subsidiary base 63 "of an area and shape'approp'riate for Iuse on the particular ground concerned," thus for' in stance said bases 63 maybe slightly concaved on theirlowerfsurfaces as'shown in Figure 4; i afior'd additional opposition to any said box;

The aforesaid parts 55 and 56 of-each of; the

struts are secured in their desired relativepositions'by a spring operated plunger device 68 cooperating with holes spaced for instance at I intervals along the'part 55, device 68 being identical with the above described plunger devices 38 and39 associated with theclamping head and further description is accordingly unnecessary.

Whenthe abov described apparatus is'employed for instance for supporting a post in a vertical position during erection of such post; the clamping head is passed over the post or alternatively the side I9 is removed so enabling the scopically interconnected parts can be separated head to be applied laterally and the side'I9 is it approximately conforms to the sizeof thepost and the clamping screw-2l is then tightened so securing the head to the'post. The struts -are thenadjusted to approximately the right lengths the post and their'bases are rested then re-applied. The head is adjusted so that on the ground, the securing pins 64 beingapplied 1 if the nature of the groundmakes this desirable. The struts are then'finely adjusted by adjusting the stretchers so as to bring the post into the exact position required and it is firmly held in that position during subsequent Work thereon such the operation of concret for instance as during V in or otherwise securing the foot-of the post. It'will of course be appreciated that if desired a plurality of clamping heads and associated supports may be applied toa single article and that struts can be employed for sup such heads and porting an articlein various positions. ;Moreover in -a desired position with by removing the base from the strut and substituting therefor a. second supporting one article clamping head. 7 Thus for instance in thearrangemerit shownin Figure '5 a strut 69 extends-between two clamping heads equipment may be properly centered with respect to another. post or other article.

The strut B9 'is identical with the struts described with reference to Figure parts for making. and a screw-threaded stretcher for adjustments therein and The clamping. .heads shown in Figure 5 are very similar tothoseshown in Figure l and they will not therefore be again or for. making adjustable .connectionwith other as a centering bar for H1 and l I so providing with which one post or other-article .soon as they register telescopically interconnected 7 Coarse adjustments in: length making fine further description is bodies. It will also lie understood that instead from one another so as to ensure that the desired rigidity will be maintained even when such parts are fully extended.

Whilst I have hereinbefore described some embodiments of the present invention, I wish it to be understood that the specific details maybe varied 0r modified without departing from the scope of such invention. Thus for instance the clamping head may include more than one clamping member and the strut or struts employed may include more than two telescopically interconnected parts. Moreover, in cases where an adjustable head having sides comprising telescopically interconnected parts is provided each of the sides concerned may include more than two telescopically interconnected parts. It is'also to be understood thatthe clamping head or heads and the strut or struts may be made of any desired dimensions and from any suitable material. I

I claim:

V 1. Supporting means comprising a clamping head for gripping the object to be supported and at least one strut of adjustable length associated therewith and angularly adjustable with respect thereto, said head being in the form of a frame having two opposed sides each of which-comprises telescopically interconnected sectionsQthe outer are slidable radially with respect to said sides of r the frame and slots are provided in said, cups for cooperation with stops, the arrangement being such that by withdrawing said cups androtating them so that their slots are out of alignment with said stops the spring-urged plungers are locked in their released positions but when said cups are turned so that the slots registenwith' the sto'ps the plungers move into their locked positions as telescopic sections. a. 3. Supporting means as claimed in claim l wherein the inner telescopic sections are of square cross-section. l 4. Supporting. means as claimed in claim 11', wherein said strutincludes at. least two telescopically interconnectedsections allowing the length of the strut to beadjusted and'means comprising a'spring operated plunger mounted on theouter telescopic'section: and a series of cooperating holes in the inner telescopicsection being provided for locking saidsections in desired positionsof adjustment,

V 5. Supporting means as claimed in claim .1, wherein said head also includes two opposed sides making'slotted engagement with the said telescopic sides, thereby allowing the last-mentioned 7 sides to be moved towards and away from one another. y a a I g 6. Supporting means as claimed in claim 1,

wherein. removable corner units are provided in saidlframe for modifying the contour thereof,

witha hole in the inner and so adapting it for gripping objects of various cross-sections. I

7. Supporting means comprising a clamping head for gripping the object to be supported and at least one strut associated therewith in an angularly adjustable manner, said strut comprising at least two telescopically interconnected sections allowing the length of the strut to be adjusted, means comprising .a spring-operated plunger mounted on the outer telescopic section and a series of cooperating holes in the inner telescopic section being provided for locking said sections in desired positions of adjustment, said plunger being carried by a cup which is mounted for radial movement with respect to the outer telescopic section, a slot being provided in said cup for cooperation with a stop, whereby the cup may be withdrawn and rotated to a position in which the slot is out of registration with the stop to lock the plunger in its freed position.

8. Supporting means as claimed in claim 1, wherein said strut includes at least two telescopically interconnected parts enabling coarse adjustments to be made in its length, and at least two parts interconnected by screw threaded means for enabling fine adjustments to be made in its length.

CHARLES JOHN RICE. 

